Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

One-man holiday-season lousy-movie machine Tim
Allen (The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2; Joe
Somebody; For Richer for Poorer) is back with yet
another alleged holiday comedy. The premise, adapted from a John
Grisham story, focuses on a middle-aged suburban couple who
decide to abandon their empty nest at Christmas and go on a
cruise in lieu of the usual Christmas hoo-hah. Naturally, they
must be punished.

Artistic/Entertainment Value

Moral/Spiritual Value

Age Appropriateness

MPAA Rating

Caveat Spectator

What on earth was anyone thinking? Luther’s so Kranky
he can’t just skip the Christmas-Eve shindig… he wants a
"total boycott," even of charitable donations — despite the fact
that they’re saving money on the cruise over against their usual
seasonal expenditures. (That his wife Nora, played by Jamie Lee
Curtis, absolutely refuses to go along with his plans until
Luther caves on the charitable donations is some consolation, but
not nearly enough.)

As bad as Luther is, he’s surrounded by neighbors who are
actually worse than he is, and devote themselves to browbeating
the Kranks into submission until finally coming together in a
heartwarming display of how communities support erring members
after pummeling them into the ground. The film makes the colossal
mistake of making Luther’s obsession actually seem almost a
well-intentioned protest against an ugly enforced conformity — then not only lets the neighbors win, but allows them to claim
the moral high ground over Luther, whose notion of a romantic
getaway is repeatedly blasted as "stupid" and "selfish" by his
own wife.

The comedy ranges from embarrassing (a fuddled priest ogling
the bikini-clad Nora whom he spots at the mall in a tanning
salon) to stupid (Nora hiding under the covers as the neighbors
holler for the plastic Frosty in their cellar) to mean-spirited
(plenty of Home Alone style pratfalls from screenwriter
Chris Columbus).